Legislative hearings held on two pro-gun bills this week

Hearings were held this week on two bills Buckeye Firearms is watching.

Tuesday, HB541 had sponsor testimony in the House Criminal Justice Committee. This bill is often referred to as “Castle Doctrine” legislation, but is also known by “Stand your Ground”, “Victim Bill of Rights” and several other names. Its primary sponsor is Representative Steve Buehrer (R-74)

Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary heard sponsor testimony from Representative Jim Aslanides (R-94) on his HB347, the concealed carry fix it bill.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for details of the hearings.

HB541:
After a brief explanation of what his bill does, and why it’s needed, Representative Buehrer entertained questions from the Criminal Justice Committee on HB541. Referring to this bill as simply reestablishing the balance, Buehrer explained that the bill is simply bringing the pendulum back to the center. This bill seeks to restore the legal concept that the burden of proof be placed back where it belongs, on the bad guy, and that the victim of a violent crime be presumed innocent.

We are still not sure of what position Ohio’s law enforcement agencies have on this bill. Similar bills have seen little resistance and overwhelming legislative support in other states, so we are optimistic about this legislation.

Currently, 22 states have introduced similar legislation, and it has become law in four. Mississippi’s Governor signed their law earlier this week, and the Alabama legislature sent their Governor legislation which is expected to be signed into law soon. The NRA’s April issue of “First Freedom” contains an excellent article titled “Exporting Castle” explaining this importance of passing these bills. The NRA has done a good job of having this legislation introduced in multiple states.

HB347:
Representative Aslanides did an outstanding job presenting testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. It is obvious that he has spent considerable time with this legislation and thoroughly understands why each aspect is important.

Several questions were asked by committee members. We are fortunate to have this bill assigned to this committee. It is chaired by Senator Jim Jordan (who is endorsed by Buckeye Firearms for US Congress, 4th district) He is a staunch supporter of self-defense, CCW, and firearms rights in general. The committee’s other members are also generally quite favorable to firearms related issues.

We enjoyed seeing grassroots support from fellow gun owners at both of these hearings and sincerely thank those who took the time to attend. Several legislators have commented to us on the importance of seeing supporters interested enough to take part in the political process. Your time is appreciated.

The legislature is now scheduled for a several week break, and thus we don’t anticipate any further hearings in the immediate future. This is part of the normal legislative process and does not foretell of problems arising for any of our bills. In fact, the legislature has made tremendous progress on sportsmen and firearms related bills this session, especially in the last few months. We are thankful for the good leadership of Speaker Jon Husted and Senate President Bill Harris.

We now turn our attention to helping endorsed candidates win their primary elections. Whether you intend to vote in the Republican or the Democratic primary, there are important races, where good candidates need your support. More endorsements will be coming soon.